Controversial owner John Yuen Se-kit has provided the first shock of the new racing season, admitting yesterday that his champion Good Ba Ba would be removed from the stables of trainer Andreas Schutz, reports Murray Bell in the HK Racing Post (www.racing.scmp.com).His report adds: The new trainer selected by Yuen is Derek Cruz, who confirmed that Hong Kong's highest-rated horse of all time would join his string tomorrow."The owner rang me, out of the blue, and asked me to train Good Ba Ba
Controversial owner John Yuen Se-kit has provided the first shock of the new racing season, admitting yesterday that his champion Good Ba Ba would be removed from the stables of trainer Andreas Schutz, reports Murray Bell in the HK Racing Post (www.racing.scmp.com).
His report adds: The new trainer selected by Yuen is Derek Cruz, who confirmed that Hong Kong's highest-rated horse of all time would join his string tomorrow.
"The owner rang me, out of the blue, and asked me to train Good Ba Ba this season," Cruz said. "It was a very big surprise, for sure, but I'm extremely happy to be given an opportunity to train a wonderful horse like this...Of course, it's unfortunate for the previous trainer but that's Hong Kong racing - we all get to experience both sides of it. Yuen could have chosen any trainer at Sha Tin and I'm grateful he's chosen me. An offer like this is not something you can say no to."
Schutz is on holiday in his native Germany and could not be contacted. His assistant trainer, Ricky Chung Chim-ki, knew nothing about the proposed move of the stable's flagship horse.
"The boss is away until the middle of August, I don't know anything about this," Chung said, though he later confirmed the story after telephoning Yuen. The sacking of Schutz is the second major personnel change in the space of eight months for Good Ba Ba, winner of six Group One races including the last two editions of the HK$16 million Cathay Pacific Hong Kong Mile.